Between memory and reuse in Late Minoan III Mesara: a glimpse on the stone vessels at Kannia In the Late Minoan IIIA-B Western Mesara the area of the monumental buildings destroyed in Late Minoan IB is reoccupied, especially in the three main centres of the area (Phaistos, Kommos and Haghia Triada). At Haghia Triada and Phaistos this reuse had very probably a religious character, linked to some ritual performances. The three monumental structures built in the southern area of Haghia Triada (the Megaron ABCD, the Stoa FG and the Shrine H) were used indeed for ceremonial activities: although they show a new architectural style, the arrangement of the overall area was very similar to that of the previous period, suggesting that it was intentionally reminiscent of the Neopalatial phase. The Neopalatial Villa at Kannia, near Mitropolis (15 km ca. East of Phaistos), was reused in Late Minoan IIIB too: some rooms of the building were rearranged for religious practices, as testified by the presence of some terracotta figurines belonging to the type of the Goddesses with Upraised Arms. The rearrangement of the building took place many decades after its destruction in Late Minoan IB, raising the possibility that the Late Minoan IIIB reuse had the aim to claim some territory possession, through the memory of the earlier building. The reuse was not limited to the architectural items: as it is well known, a recurring phenomenon in Crete is the finding of some objects produced during the Middle Minoan and the Late Minoan I in architectural contexts dating to Late Minoan III, mostly ceremonial in character. At Kannia, in particular, some stone vessels found in the Late Minoan IIIB cult rooms are very interesting. They are two libation tables and a bird's nest bowl; one libation table was a Late Minoan I type, but produced perhaps during the Late Minoan IIIA-B period: some engraved signs were probably reminiscent of the linear A inscriptions engraved on similar Late Minoan I stone vases. The second libation table, belonging to a Middle Minoan type, was found together with the bird's nest bowl, as in some protopalatial complexes at Phaistos. It is also important to stress the ceremonial function that the rooms, in which the stone vases were found, had during the Late Minoan III period. Therefore, during the Late Minoan IIIB at Kannia, besides the revival of older architectural structures, the use of stone vessels belonging to earliest ages from stylistic and typological points of view emphasized the memory perpetuation as a strong and significant element of identity.

Between memory and reuse in Late Minoan III Mesara: the stone vessels at Kannià

Orazio Palio
Co-primo
Membro del Collaboration Group
;
2019-01-01

Abstract

Between memory and reuse in Late Minoan III Mesara: a glimpse on the stone vessels at Kannia In the Late Minoan IIIA-B Western Mesara the area of the monumental buildings destroyed in Late Minoan IB is reoccupied, especially in the three main centres of the area (Phaistos, Kommos and Haghia Triada). At Haghia Triada and Phaistos this reuse had very probably a religious character, linked to some ritual performances. The three monumental structures built in the southern area of Haghia Triada (the Megaron ABCD, the Stoa FG and the Shrine H) were used indeed for ceremonial activities: although they show a new architectural style, the arrangement of the overall area was very similar to that of the previous period, suggesting that it was intentionally reminiscent of the Neopalatial phase. The Neopalatial Villa at Kannia, near Mitropolis (15 km ca. East of Phaistos), was reused in Late Minoan IIIB too: some rooms of the building were rearranged for religious practices, as testified by the presence of some terracotta figurines belonging to the type of the Goddesses with Upraised Arms. The rearrangement of the building took place many decades after its destruction in Late Minoan IB, raising the possibility that the Late Minoan IIIB reuse had the aim to claim some territory possession, through the memory of the earlier building. The reuse was not limited to the architectural items: as it is well known, a recurring phenomenon in Crete is the finding of some objects produced during the Middle Minoan and the Late Minoan I in architectural contexts dating to Late Minoan III, mostly ceremonial in character. At Kannia, in particular, some stone vessels found in the Late Minoan IIIB cult rooms are very interesting. They are two libation tables and a bird's nest bowl; one libation table was a Late Minoan I type, but produced perhaps during the Late Minoan IIIA-B period: some engraved signs were probably reminiscent of the linear A inscriptions engraved on similar Late Minoan I stone vases. The second libation table, belonging to a Middle Minoan type, was found together with the bird's nest bowl, as in some protopalatial complexes at Phaistos. It is also important to stress the ceremonial function that the rooms, in which the stone vases were found, had during the Late Minoan III period. Therefore, during the Late Minoan IIIB at Kannia, besides the revival of older architectural structures, the use of stone vessels belonging to earliest ages from stylistic and typological points of view emphasized the memory perpetuation as a strong and significant element of identity.
2019
978-90-429-3903-5
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/370292
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